Born with immortal seed

Chapter 310 Layer by Layer Screening

Before the Ten Thousand Immortals Stream, after the first round of selection, the number of applicants for independent cultivation has been successfully reduced from nearly ten thousand to about two thousand.

Those who were eliminated didn't leave; they remained on the sidelines, watching the spectacle unfold.

They were curious about the newcomer from Hejian County, and also wanted to see who would ultimately receive the Foundation Establishment Pill promised at this recruitment ceremony.

The eliminated rogue cultivators were either in their seventies or eighties, with only the third or fourth level of Qi Refining cultivation, and only knew one basic Five Elements spell.

Or perhaps they have a long history of misdeeds, acting like demonic cultivators, and have been exposed by someone.

The whole process didn't take long; basically, it was decided whether someone could join the next round after just one meeting.

Originally, eighteen thousand-year-old ghost willows were planted here, which would attract souls and spirits. Every night, they would wail and howl, and countless ghostly figures would float and wander.

Since the Qingfeng Sect took over, they have set up three second-tier formations to convert the wandering souls and cleanse the ghostly aura.

Over the years, the hideous and ferocious faces on the ghost willow trees disappeared, and the bark gradually changed from dark black to brown.

Sitting under the shade of a tree, you will no longer feel a chill down your spine or a ghostly, eerie atmosphere.

Beneath the largest willow tree, a high platform was erected, upon which five Foundation Establishment elders sat.

"The recruitment of apprentices and new members in Hejian County is a first-time event, and everything is going very smoothly and the response has been enthusiastic... I didn't expect that Junior Brother Li is also proficient in administrative affairs. It's a waste of his talent that he hasn't been given a formal position yet. Why don't you come and serve in my Law Enforcement Hall?"

Long Long sat at the head of the table, her skin as white as snow. In recent years, as she had taken on the position of Senior Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, her expression had become increasingly aloof.

The name "Ice Fairy" spread like wildfire, and all the disciples knew that Elder Long of the Law Enforcement Hall was the most impartial and incorruptible, strictly adhering to the sect's rules.

If you fall into her hands, you can only accept your bad luck; don't expect her to show leniency and let you off easily.

Even when members of the Long family committed offenses, they were punished strictly according to the sect's rules of reward and punishment, and were sent to the mines to perform hard labor for five years.

In previous years, the opening of the mountain gates was handled by an elder.

As the number of recruits increased and the workload grew, the system was changed to have two elders jointly in charge in recent times.

The situation in Hejian County is a special case. It's the first time they've recruited disciples on newly acquired territory, so they definitely need to pay more attention to it.

Li Guizhen and two elders were in charge of overall coordination. At the last moment, Long Long, the second-in-command of the Law Enforcement Hall, and an elder from the Transmission Hall also came to Wanxianjian to ensure the success of the matter.

"Thanks to the help of my senior brothers and the title of Master, I only did some small things within my power... The General Head of the Law Enforcement Hall is responsible for punishing all illegal acts by disciples of the sect and prohibiting the overstepping of rules by cultivators in the two prefectures. The responsibility is too great for me to handle."

Li Guizhen modestly replied, not taking Long Long's offer seriously.

"Moreover, I have not been under my master's tutelage for long, and there are still many things I need to learn from him, so it is inconvenient for me to leave."

“Junior Brother Li is able to listen to Elder Bai’s lectures all the time, which is enviable… The heavy workload of being stationed in the Enforcement Hall is indeed not suitable for a person like Junior Brother who practices asceticism.”

Long Long remained calm and spoke in a cold tone.

"After the apprenticeship ceremony, please ask Junior Brother Li to convey my wish to have an audience with Ancestor Bai."

The High-Ranking Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall holds a position equivalent to that of the Deputy Hall Master, second only to the Hall Master.

Everyone in the sect knows that Long Long is a candidate for the next Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Her cultivation level had already reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. After taking over the Ghost Spirit Sect's treasury, the sect gained a large number of breakthrough pills, and she had already included breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage in her plans.

In everyone's eyes, Long Long is the best among the middle-generation elders, and he and Su Li are considered the elders with the best chance of succeeding as the Palace Master.

But only she knew in her heart that her junior brother, who could carry out sect missions side by side back then, had now grown into a dazzling existence that was impossible to see no matter how she looked up.

Even his disciples may soon catch up, matching or even surpassing him in cultivation.

When people are discussing this, they subconsciously ignore Bai Zichen's age.

Forget about the lofty and unapproachable Old Ancestor Bai; even among the middle-aged elders, he would be considered young.

After Longlong reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he was originally to be granted the position of Supervisor Elder.

But considering that this position was once held by the White Ancestor, he felt ashamed to accept it.

Let's go a step further and pretend that the position of Supervisor Elder doesn't exist, and directly make him a High-Ranking Elder.

"Reporting to the elders, there is a rogue cultivator among the candidates in the re-examination with special circumstances. We have differing opinions and cannot make a decision..."

Below the platform, a capable steward stepped forward to report, his face flushed, presumably after arguing with a fellow disciple.

Jiang Yonglu of Baixigou, 67 years old, with a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivation and a first-tier peak clothing master.

"So it was about this person. What was the point of your argument?"

Li Guizhen reviewed the rogue cultivator's resume and handed it to Long Long.

"The other deacons all believe that giving Jiang Yonglu the status of a menial disciple is sufficient. This disciple thinks that he should also be an outer disciple, otherwise it would violate the sect's principle of recruiting new disciples and would not be able to attract more cultivators from Hejian."

The deacon spoke loudly, expressing his views aloud in front of the elders.

"Sixty-seven years old, a peak first-tier clothing master... Senior Sister Long, what do you think?"

Li Guizhen wanted to retort that this was unreasonable. It was already good enough that a 67-year-old Qi Refining mid-stage rogue cultivator could be accepted into the sect; to expect to become an outer disciple was just a pipe dream.

But then I thought about it again and realized that it wasn't right, and that it was indeed difficult to make a decision.

Possessing a top-tier first-order skill, such as alchemy or weapon crafting, would be an exception for even inner disciples, let alone outer disciples.

To be able to reach this level through self-study as a rogue cultivator, after receiving systematic training and instruction, reaching the second stage is practically a certainty.

A second-tier alchemist is no less important to a sect than a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In the entire Pill Hall, there are only six second-tier alchemists, who are responsible for refining more than 90% of the pills for the Qingfeng Sect.

Unfortunately, this old man Jiang's skill was that of a very niche craftsman.

So cold that there was no such skill passed down in the Qingfeng Sect, so cold that Li Guizhen didn't even realize at first that it was one of the hundred arts of cultivation.

The title "clothing master" literally means "one who makes religious robes and ceremonial garments."

Besides looking better, it also gives the robe all sorts of magical properties, such as being impervious to water and fire and dust.

High-grade robes and monastic garments may even come with forbidden spells and secret techniques that will activate automatically under certain circumstances without needing to be activated.

However, the awkward thing about this technique is that ordinary cultivators don't have spirit stones to spend on magic robes, and high-level cultivators would prefer to refine them themselves if they need them.

On the one hand, it suits my taste better and is more convenient to wear.

On the other hand, the restrictions and secret techniques attached to high-level magic robes and Taoist robes are often the last resort for bringing the dead back to life.

Most importantly, it was unexpected; no one knew of its existence.

That makes it even less likely that the crafting would be entrusted to someone else, resulting in the Clothing Master having one of the lowest profiles among all the various arts of cultivation.

“I heard that disciples of the Nascent Soul Grand Sect will have a unified robe, unlike our sect which only has ordinary Taoist robes with maple leaves embroidered on the corners. It is a good thing to have a robe master to improve the sect’s Taoist robes.”

After a moment's thought, Long Long offered his idea.

"However, the outer disciples are set up to encourage disciples to strive forward on the path of cultivation and reach new heights... This disciple is too old to pass the sect's small competition even if he becomes an outer disciple. It would be better to grant him the special privilege of serving as a menial disciple for two years and then immediately transferring him to the position of manager of the General Affairs Hall. This would be a good way to make the best use of him."

The standard Taoist robes of the Holy Lotus Sect are fundamentally different from the various Taoist robes currently issued by the Green Maple Sect.

The so-called standard is not just about uniform style and materials, and consistent patterns and markings.

Taking the Daoist robes of the Holy Lotus Sect as an example, the Qi Refining disciples all have warning signals that can be emitted in times of crisis. When attacked while unconscious, they can automatically activate a thick earth shield. They also have a water-avoidance spell when falling into water and a fire-avoidance spell when encountering fire, and so on.

Making such a Taoist robe would cost no less than crafting a top-grade magical artifact.

Only a Nascent Soul sect like the Holy Lotus Sect, as the common leader of the cultivation world in Liang Kingdom, has the resources to make standard Daoist robes for tens of thousands of Qi Refining disciples to enter their next stage.

The other elders shared similar opinions with Long Long: the training time for menial disciples could be shortened, but they could not be directly taught to outer disciples.

Li Guizhen remained silent; he couldn't possibly ask his master about such a trivial matter.

He pondered to himself what decision his master would make in this situation.

Several thoughts raced through his mind until he recalled what Bai Zichen had told him a month ago: this time, he would accept all those with five spiritual roots and immortal seedlings, just like before.

"A first-tier peak skill is extremely difficult to acquire, and it can fill the gap in our sect's robes and ceremonial garments... He will be promoted to an outer disciple position, and all the benefits will be the same as those of a normal outer disciple."

As the person in charge of the apprentice-acceptance ceremony, Li Guizhen has made a decision, and everyone else should abide by it.

Even though Long Long held a much higher position in the sect than him, she couldn't refute his decision at this moment.

Moreover, Long Long quietly held her teacup, showing no reaction whatsoever to the different opinions of a rogue cultivator.

After this little incident, the group quickly selected the menial disciples and outer disciples from among the nearly one thousand rogue cultivators who entered the third round.

There are only ten spots left for inner disciples, and they are currently empty.

“Inner disciples have always been selected only by the Core Formation Ancestor or the Sect Leader… This time, in order to take care of Hejian County, ten slots have been specially opened.”

Long Long's gaze swept over the provisional list of 110 outer disciples, and he thought to himself how lucky these disciples from Hejian County were.

Without this preferential policy, only the top three in the annual sect competition would become inner disciples.

It's already difficult for the disciples of the Wanxianjian branch to compete with the disciples of the main sect; it's estimated that they won't be able to gather ten inner disciples even in ten years.

"Why don't we present the list of outer disciples and let Elder Bai make the final decision?"

"No, at the very least we need to identify the candidates, otherwise, do you expect Master to look at all one hundred-plus outer disciples?"

Li Guizhen firmly opposed this and first copied Mi Wanting, who was at the top of the provisional list of outer disciples, into the list of inner disciples.

This was the name that the Mi family finally submitted, which was approved by the White Ancestor, as a reward for the Mi family's contribution of the secret sword-forging technique.

"Fellow disciples, why don't we each express our opinions and select twenty of the most outstanding outer disciples for Master's judgment?"

"Junior Brother Li's words are wise and prudent; let us act accordingly."

“That’s right, we shouldn’t bother Old Ancestor Bai with any more trivial matters.”

The elders all agreed that the position of inner disciple was too sensitive.

If it weren't for the fact that the Core Formation Ancestor personally oversaw this process, everyone would have remained silent and simply sent the list back to the sect leader for orders.

(End of this chapter)